Crooked guides

[Bass Junke]

Hey guys, so I just bought a new reel and am living in denial hoping to get out on the water again. I am putting this reel on a St Croix 7'1" MH Bass X. I am looking down the length of the rod and I notice the tip is way off to the left. I'm thinking NBD heat up the tip and straighten it out. The more I stare down the length of this rod the more guides I start seeing not lining up. Another check mark in the reasons to build your own rods column. Which I still am planning on doing this winter, I bought a blank during the Father's Day sale at Get Bit. There is a photo below I think you can see it. A couple of questions. Should I do anything about it? The tip looks like it is covered in clear coat. Do manufacturers do that to tip tops? A lot of guys talk about buying a cheap rod just to learn how to take off guides. I am guessing removing guides without damaging the blank is not a walk in the park. Is it something that a very careful guy who is very good at intricate work and also an aspiring rod builder should do to a rod he does not want to ruin because he needs it until he can build a better replacement? Should I just send it back to St Croix? It is only a couple of months old and in perfect shape, caught a few fish on it, learned how to pitch with it. Or should I just live with it because it just shot up the list of rods to be retired to number 2?

[Scott F]

Perfect alignment of the guides isn’t going to make any difference in the way it fishes. I own a rod where none of the guides line up. It was made that way on purpose. It’s called a spiral wrap. There is no way in the world I would do anything to straighten out your guides. Because the rod is still new, take it back to where you bought it, or send it back to St Croix if the mis-alignment bugs you that much. 

[spoonplugger1]

The guides after the one on the reel are not as important as you think, you can probably stack 50 lengths of the line you using in the first guide on the rod after the reel, just how much ròom does the line need?  Especially after running though the itty bitty one on the reel. It's not a rifle, you'll never know the difference. If you change nothing on the guides, but their position, it's easy with little cleanup, the new finish will hide the old. Cụt the thread off the top of the guide foot, no need to get close to the blank with the sharp stuff.

[MickD]

A little heat (very little) should allow the tiptop to be straightened. 

 

Before trying to straighten the guides I caution you to consider the "dry wall principal," which states that there comes a time in every project when any attempts to make it better will most likely result in making it worse.   I think you are already there with respect to the guides.

 

For this minor misalignment, which will not affect the performance, I would give a call to St Croix, send them the photo, and see what they have to say.

[Bass Junke]

Thanks for all your responses. If I put the guides on, I don't think I could live with it. I am not going to do anything about it. I have been fishing and catching with it. It's all good. I was just a little surprised to see the lapse in quality control. 

[Scott F]

Where did you buy the rod? St Croix has very good quality control usually. Rods with even very slight cosmetic defects get downgraded to “seconds” and are sold off at a discount. They mark them with a letter S usually on the reel seat or on the butt end. 

[Hook2Jaw]

As an aspiring rod builder, it's nice to know perfect alignment of the guides isn't absolutely necessary.  Thanks, fellas.

[MickD]

3 hours ago, Hook2Jaw said:

As an aspiring rod builder, it's nice to know perfect alignment of the guides isn't absolutely necessary.  Thanks, fellas.

A tip, the last step before putting wrap epoxy onto the wraps, check alignment.  You can still move the guides a little after color preservative, but once the epoxy is on, it's over.  Don't ask how I know this.  I have taken an old spin reel and cut the foot off making it into a pretty effective alignment tool.  Which works with casting builds too.

[Hook2Jaw]

10 hours ago, MickD said:

A tip, the last step before putting wrap epoxy onto the wraps, check alignment.  You can still move the guides a little after color preservative, but once the epoxy is on, it's over.  Don't ask how I know this.  I have taken an old spin reel and cut the foot off making it into a pretty effective alignment tool.  Which works with casting builds too.

I'm trying to figure out how it's become an alignment tool.  Are you placing the rod through the guides before they're epoxied on to get that perfect alignment?

[Lyman X]

You cut the foot off the reel up close to the reel and throw the reel away. Then grind the stem of the foot to a point. You can now put this in the reelseat of the new rod and sight down along it to help align guides after wrapping and before finishing. Kinda like a rear sight on a rifle.

[.ghoti.]

2 hours ago, Hook2Jaw said:

I'm trying to figure out how it's become an alignment tool.  Are you placing the rod through the guides before they're epoxied on to get that perfect alignment?

What do you mean, placing the rod through the guides?

 

I do a final alignment check before applying CP. simple process. Just sight down the blank, in very bright light. The chopped off reel foot provides an alignment point for the sight picture.

[Hook2Jaw]

9 hours ago, Lyman X said:

You cut the foot off the reel up close to the reel and throw the reel away. Then grind the stem of the foot to a point. You can now put this in the reelseat of the new rod and sight down along it to help align guides after wrapping and before finishing. Kinda like a rear sight on a rifle.

Awesome!  I don't have any old spinning reels I can chop up, but I found an alignment tool on MHX.  Thank you.

 

9 hours ago, .ghoti. said:

What do you mean, placing the rod through the guides?

 

I do a final alignment check before applying CP. simple process. Just sight down the blank, in very bright light. The chopped off reel foot provides an alignment point for the sight picture.

10-4, thanks.  I think I've about got it figured out now.  None of the videos I watched showed alignment tools.  The amount of tools they have to build rods can be a tad overwhelming for an aspiring builder.

[MickD]

Many builders don't use any tools other than their eyes and a bright light.  Eyes are pretty good, especially when you point the rod at a window or other bright light source.  The guides become silhouetted and misalignment is pretty easy to see.  With small guides I find that running my thumb and forefinger along the blank from guide to guide will detect pretty small misalignments. Practice practice practice and one will find a method that works.

[Hook2Jaw]

28 minutes ago, MickD said:

Many builders don't use any tools other than their eyes and a bright light.  Eyes are pretty good, especially when you point the rod at a window or other bright light source.  The guides become silhouetted and misalignment is pretty easy to see.  With small guides I find that running my thumb and forefinger along the blank from guide to guide will detect pretty small misalignments. Practice practice practice and one will find a method that works.

This is comforting to hear.  I plan to use the 6 dollar alignment tool from Mudhole as well as my eyes, and plan to dedicate this Christmas to building a 6'3" MXF for jerkbaiting from my kayak the rest of this winter. 

[Bass Junke]

On 11/17/2019 at 1:46 AM, Scott F said:

Where did you buy the rod? St Croix has very good quality control usually. Rods with even very slight cosmetic defects get downgraded to “seconds” and are sold off at a discount. They mark them with a letter S usually on the reel seat or on the butt end. 

I had a gift card for BPS but the local shop did not have the model I wanted so had to order off their website. It shipped to my house.

 

On 11/17/2019 at 5:03 AM, Hook2Jaw said:

As an aspiring rod builder, it's nice to know perfect alignment of the guides isn't absolutely necessary.  Thanks, fellas.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

On 11/17/2019 at 8:45 AM, MickD said:

A tip, the last step before putting wrap epoxy onto the wraps, check alignment.  You can still move the guides a little after color preservative, but once the epoxy is on, it's over.  Don't ask how I know this.  I have taken an old spin reel and cut the foot off making it into a pretty effective alignment tool.  Which works with casting builds too.

Thanks Mick, good stuff as always.

On 11/17/2019 at 8:45 AM, MickD said:

A tip, the last step before putting wrap epoxy onto the wraps, check alignment.  You can still move the guides a little after color preservative, but once the epoxy is on, it's over.  Don't ask how I know this.  I have taken an old spin reel and cut the foot off making it into a pretty effective alignment tool.  Which works with casting builds too.

 

12 hours ago, Lyman X said:

You cut the foot off the reel up close to the reel and throw the reel away. Then grind the stem of the foot to a point. You can now put this in the reelseat of the new rod and sight down along it to help align guides after wrapping and before finishing. Kinda like a rear sight on a rifle.

I had to read these posts 3 times before I figured out what you two were talking about. My brain is not operating at 100% yet this Monday morning. What a great idea turn a reel foot into a peep sight.

[spoonplugger1]

I turn the rod around where the guide are facing away from me, and than use the rod blank as the alignment tool, ensuring the guide frame is sticking out equally on both sides of the blank. Finally I give it the eyeball, guides up.

I spiral wrap virtually all my rods, it gives the straightest line path, myself and others years  built some rods with a 540 degree spiral, 1 1/2 turns around the blank, there was no real difference in rod performance.

[Shimano_1]

This is why I prefer to buy my rods in store if possible so I can check that out before buying.  It's not goin to hurt a thing but my OCD gets to me. As for heating up the tip...if it has the epoxy/finish on it u need to remove it before you try to straighten it out. The heat will let the glue soften up inside and let you move it but I'd say ur hurt the blank if you dont remove the epoxy first. It's not a hard job I've done it to several.  I always use a razor blade to remove the epoxy then cut/remove the wrap if there is on. If you're not familiar with fixing or building rods I would leave it be or send it in the be fixed or replaced.